Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said he would support a bill that addressed sickouts by teachers that close schools.

"They are not supposed to strike," Jones said. "They get around not striking by a sickout. So perhaps there needs to be a change in the law in that area."

The sickouts are considered illegal strikes by some legal experts, the process is cumbersome to enforce under existing laws. The law states that before a public employer may discipline a public employee for engaging in a strike, the public employee has a right to a hearing.

With a large school district, that can lead to hundreds upon hundreds of hearings. For example, media reports have listed as many as a dozen DPS schools that have been closed due to sickouts in December and January. There are more than 460 teachers at those schools cited.

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